Fleet Provides $9M for Brooklyn Condo Project

NEW YORK CITY-In another signal that multifamily development is hot in the outer boroughs, Fleet Community Real Estate Finance Group, a unit of Fleet Bank, provided a $9-million construction loan for the Toy Factory in the Clinton Hill/Fort Greene section of Brooklyn. The funding is a two-year, short-term construction loan; however, Fleet does not comment on share rates. Construction is currently under way on the rehabilitation of the existing eight-story warehouse at 176-83 Johnson St.—the former home of a toy manufacturer. The new development will consist of 56 loft-style condominiums, ground-floor commercial space and underground tenant parking. United Homes, a subsidiary of Galit Properties, is the sponsor of the $11.4-million project. The conversion is expected to take 18 months to two years and the first units are slated for occupancy by late 2005.Marshall & Stevens, a national valuation consulting firm, had been working with the borrower to help structure a deal that was in line with market rates and approached Fleet for the transaction, according to Fleet vice president of Community Real Estate Finance Blondel Pinnock. Pinnock served as the relationship manager for the project.In addition to the Toy Factory, Fleet is involved in several other multifamily projects in the boroughs, including Fountains at Spring Creek in East New York, Brooklyn. The two three-story building development contains 102 apartments and construction was completed last fall, Pinnock adds.”Our participation in these types of projects supports our commitment to provide needed housing to preserve neighborhoods and to advance home ownership opportunities for our city’s residents,” explains Philip Grossman, executive vice president and market manager, Community Real Estate Finance at Fleet.